GAELIC GAMES/Grants: The GPA's chief executive Dessie Farrell talks to Seán Moran about grants for players

The Gaelic Players Association are confident that Government funding is available for elite footballers and hurlers, despite current GAA indecision over whether to support the players' campaign. It has been further suggested that any grants initiative would be comparable to the Aosdána scheme of arts bursaries.

"The meetings we have had with Government ministers have been very encouraging," according to GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell. "We met the Taoiseach recently and he agreed that something should be done for players. This is despite suggestions that his interview at Christmas where he opposed professionalism meant that he would be unsympathetic.

"In the interview he said he didn't want to see a transfer system with players being bought by counties, but he told us that he has no issue with the sort of schemes we're discussing and that he understands the contribution of players."

According to Farrell, the proposal that elite players receive some recognition for their efforts has met with encouragement at Government level.

The idea of grants emerged after the defeat of a proposal in the Dáil for tax relief directed at inter-county players, because of opposition from the Department of Finance.

"When we went the grants route, Minister (for Finance, Brian) Cowen was sympathetic and assured us that the cost to the exchequer was not an issue. The issue would be how to ring-fence the entitlements.

"We also met (Sports) Minister O'Donoghue and he was again very sympathetic. It was him that enlightened us on the Aosdána grants, as one way of protecting the cultural value of Gaelic games."

The issue of ring-fencing the grants was addressed by asking the Irish Sports Council to act as gatekeepers for the scheme in order to control and regulate it.

The ISC felt that any grants system should be tiered, although originally that hadn't been part of the GPA proposal.

In response, the GPA has proposed three tiers, attracting grants of €2,500, €1,750 and €1,000 respectively. These would be categorised in hurling according to the three championship tiers - MacCarthy Cup, Ring Cup and Rackard Cup.

Football would be organised on the basis of counties' progression in the All-Ireland championship and qualifier rounds. Overall, the scheme would cost in the region of €3.5 million.

The issue was discussed at last Saturday's meeting of the GAA's Central Council in Croke Park. Farrell was present in his capacity as players' representative and put the case for the association to support the campaign for publicly funded recognition.

But any decision was deferred pending a meeting between the GPA and the GAA's president-elect Nickey Brennan, which is unlikely to take place until Brennan's term of office begins in just under two months. This has complicated matters for the GPA, who are due to meet the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O'Donoghue on March 8th.

Farrell says there is a degree of urgency about the matter at this stage.

"We were happy to respect the correct procedures and willing to defer any decision until we meet the GAA, but what's disappointing for players is that this proposal has been on the table for a year and a half. Seán Kelly has been supportive of the idea in meetings we've had and the GAA seemed in favour of it.

"What we won't tolerate is further fudge and being fobbed off and asked to wait until later in the year."

One reason for the delay on the part of the GAA is a view within the association that the question of remunerating players - who are association members - should be a matter for the GAA and not an outside agency such as the Government.

On the subject of a proposed awards scheme, similar to the All Stars but to be selected by players rather than journalists, Farrell said that he hoped the proposal would be up and running by the end of this year.

"We're still talking to potential sponsors Opel and hope to take it forward. I'm confident it will be in place later this year."

Meanwhile, new ground is being broken today in Irish provincial sports journalism by the Kilkenny Voice newspaper. The country's newest provincial paper has become the first to publish a complete profile of all GAA clubs in the county.

An 80-page glossy supplement with today's issue profiles the 41 GAA clubs of Co Kilkenny - 38 hurling and three football. The 80,000 word supplement is the culmination of over two months of extensive research by GAA writers Charlie Keegan and Pat Treacy.